Barack Obama Visits Netherland (Not the Ranch)

Remember earlier this year when we told you about Netherland, Joseph O’Neill’s buzzy love letter to New York and cricket that shocked everyone by not getting nominated for the Man Booker prize? Well here’s a bit of runner-up prize for Mr. O’Neill: According to New York Times Magazine, Barack Obama is reading the novel because he’s “sick of briefing books.” Isn’t that cute?

Assuming that the President likes it, O’Neill is in pretty good company. Obama’s Facebook profile also lists Song of Solomon, Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s Tragedies, Parting the Waters, Gilead, Self-Reliance, The Bible, and Lincoln’s Collected Writings as among his favorite reads.

Publisher’s Weeklynotes that “with this new presidential seal of approval, Random House has decided to go back to press for an additional 2,500 copies as ‘a start.'” If you want to be part of the Obama Book Club, but you’re feeling poor, the paperback edition is due out in June.